It was presented yesterday the Report "Graduation and Entrepreneurship", the first study, conducted at national level, of graduate entrepreneurship in Italy, using statistical data referring to a very long time span. The main goal of the research is to analyze the phenomenon of entrepreneurship and its economic impact. The data considered are, at the individual level, of 2.891.980 graduates on the national territory between 2004-2018 and data, at company level, of 236.362 companies founded by them. The study was born from the collaboration between the Interuniversity Consortium AlmaLaurea, the Department of Business Sciences of the University of Bologna and Unioncamere.
The results show that 7,1% of graduates are business founders, i.e. those who, at the time of the creation of a company, own a share of the capital and hold an entrepreneurial position, such as director, owner or partner. It is a total of 205.137 graduates and 236.362 companies founded, representing 3,9% of the total companies present in Italy in September 2019. The share of founders subject to the analysis varies according to some characteristics of the population. For example, the share of men is higher than that of women (9,5% against 5,5%), or, among graduates who have at least one entrepreneur or freelance parent, the share of founders is higher than the average (25,7% against 5,0%).
In Italy, micro-enterprises form the backbone of the economic system, covering 95,3% of active enterprises, and contribute 29,7% to the creation of added value. Small and medium enterprises, on the other hand, are 4,6% and contribute 38,8% to the creation of added value. Although the percentage covered by large companies is small, only 0,4%, they contribute 31,5%.
An interesting datum concerns the distribution of companies founded by graduates from a territorial point of view. In Southern Italy there are 40,8% of the enterprises, while in the Center and in the North, respectively, 21,7% and 37,4%. The reverse is the ranking of Italian companies founded by non-graduates, where there is a greater concentration in the North, with 45%, against the Center and South, 21% and 34%. This means that young graduates, once they have obtained their degree in the North, return to their place of birth to open their own companies.
For the growth rate (given by the ratio between the balance between enrollments and terminations for each year of observation, and the stock of graduate firms) it emerges that this has increased in the last decade, going from 2,2% in 2009 to 3,7% in 2018. This demonstrates how graduate entrepreneurship has positive effects at national level. Because the companies created by graduates are more vital - said Marina Timoteo, Director of the AlmaLaurea Consortium - in fact they have a higher growth and survival rate, and help create job opportunities even in areas of the Italian territory with greater economic difficulties . Those who graduate have more chances of doing business and, even more, of making the company they created last.
Less enthusiastic it is the survival rate of businesses. At a national level, of the 312.000 companies born in 2009, the 40,6% in 2019.
Women's businesses, i.e. businesses whose control and ownership is mainly held by women, represent 38% of the total businesses created by university graduates, higher than the national one, equal to 22%. The percentage of female enterprises in the professional, technical and scientific sector, equal to 7,7%, is lower than that observed in our population of enterprises (9,8%), but higher than the national percentage of female enterprises operating in the same sector (3.8%).
But looking at the experience of some of the biggest international companies, one wonders whether possessing a degree is necessary to carry out this type of activity. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and Pixar, dropped out of college just six months after enrolling. Mark Zuckerberg, father of Facebook, dropped out of Harvard in his sophomore year. Also Matten Mullenweg, which gave birth to WordPress, and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and many others, have not finished their studies to devote themselves to their businesses. The achievement of a degree allows the acquisition of notions for the realization of a good business plan and managerial skills on the financial aspects of doing business – he maintains the general secretary of Unioncamere, Joseph Tripoli. The Chambers of Commerce intervene on this level, working together with the associations alongside aspiring and new entrepreneurs. A decisive support above all for smaller companies – he continued.
It is important that the enterprises created are successful businesses, capable of generating wealth, well-being and, above all, employment. It is necessary to invest in human capital, through adequate training, which is capable of dealing with a constantly evolving market. For this reason, the results of this research, the first in terms of data robustness and time horizon at an international level, are useful and necessary to understand the right direction to promote entrepreneurship in Italy, and not only that, but also for reduce gender inequalities present in this sector.
